Le Fantasque (1935)
Le Fantasque in 1943
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| History | |
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 France
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| Name: | Le Fantasque |
| Namesake: | "The capricious one" |
| Laid down: | 15 November 1931 |
| Launched: | 15 March 1934 |
| Commissioned: | 1 May 1936 |
| Reclassified: | March 1943 |
| Notes: |
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| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Le Fantasque-class destroyer |
| Displacement: | 2,570 tonnes |
| Length: | 132.40 m (434.4 ft) |
| Beam: | 11.98 m (39.3 ft) |
| Draught: | 4.30 m (14.1 ft) |
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Le Fantasque ("The capricious one") was a large destroyer ("contre-torpilleur", "torpedo boat destroyer") of the French Navy which served during the Second World War. Her class is the fastest type of destroyer ever built.
Le Fantasque was the first destroyer of its class, out of a total of six units built by order of the French naval program in 1930. These ships were designed to outclass the large escorts built by the Italian navy. The design strongly stressed firepower and speed over armour protection, and indeed, Le Fantasque is still to this day the fastest type of destroyer ever built.
In the beginning of the Second World War, Le Fantasque patrolled the Atlantic with the Force de Raid, sinking the German cargo ship Halle on 16 October 1939 and capturing its crew. She also took part in the hunt for the German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee. On 25 November, along with her sister ship Le Terrible and the heavy cruiser Dupleix, she captured the German merchantman Santa Fé.
After the Fall of France, Le Fantasque was assigned to the Vichy French 10th DCT (Division de Contre-Torpilleurs, "destroyer division"), with her sister ships Le Malin and L'Audacieux, based at Dakar. On 23 September 1940, the Allies attacked Dakar. Le Fantasque sailed through the harbour, setting smoke screens and protecting the stronger French units. She took fire from the British ships and aircraft, but was not damaged.
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